Public-hall exit



(No Model.) 2 Shets-Sheet 2.

0. WEBSTERSr.

PUBLIC HALL EXIT.

N07 290,951. Patented D eoQ 25,1883.

Erica RONENA C. IVEBSTER, SR, OF LIPSCOMB, TENNESSEE.

PUBLIC-HALL EXIT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 290,951, dated December25, 1883.

Application ma October 8,1883. (X0 model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, Miss RONENA O. WEB- STER, Sn, a citizen ofTennessee, United States, residing at Lipscomb, in the county of Mauryand State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Public-Hall Exits; and I do declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as willenable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters and fig ures of reference'marked thereon,which form a part ofthis specification. V

This invention relates to means whereby a series of doors can besimultaneously opened by one person, and is particularly designed forpublic buildings; and it consists in the construction and arrangement ofparts, as will be more fully set forth and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings like letters of reference indicate likeparts in the several iigures.

Figure 1 represents a wall of a building partly broken away, with twosliding doors and means for opening them when their fastening latches orbolts are released. Fig. 2 represents a sectional View taken on the line00 w of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is' a detail showing means for hanging saiddoors. Fig. 4 is aplan view, partly in section, of a building with theflooring broken away to show the means for unfastening the doors. Figs.5, 6, and 7 are details, which will be presently described.

It is well known that much of the loss of life and serious bodily harmwhich are caused by the efforts of people to escape from places in whichthey have assembled for amusement or instruction might be avoided if asuitable number of exits were provided which could be simultaneouslyopened by one person.

By my improvement it will be seen that the places of exit, most of whichare usually locked until the audience is about to disperse, can beopened at once by any one having knowledge of the facilities forunfastening the doors.

In carrying out my invention I use a hollow wall, A, as will be seen inFigs. 2 and 4,

with or without atrack, a. Thistrack is adapted to fit in a groove inthe bottom of the door in the ordinary way.

Just above the door I have suspended a rail, B, upon which the door B issuspended by means of rollers a, as clearly shown in Fig. 2,, and whichmeans is in common use.

At some distance from the door a pulley, b, is secured to the wall, overwhich passes a rope, I), one end of which is secured to the door, andthe opposite end has a weight, If. The weight is sufficient to open thedoorwhen unfastened, and a single weight can be made to open a series ofdoors, if desired.

Underthe flooring of the audience-room of the building isa rod, (3,which passes through a collar, 0, on the crank-shaft E, to which it issecured by a thumb-screw, c. The rodO is turned up through a slot in thefloor, and is provided with an operating-handle, O. The shaft E ismounted upon a suitable number of bearings, and has central and endcranks, e e, the latter being connected to catch-rods F, which areprovided with guiding-plates within the hollow wall, and are held downby the action of springs j, which are overcome in raising the catches fby means of the cranks e.

At the end doors I employ a bell-crank, H, to one arm of which the rod 0is hinged, the other arm being connected to the catch-rod F f. The rod 0is provided with astrong spring, G, whichreadjusts the catches inposition to receive the latches when the doors are closed.

It will be readily seen that when'the doors portion, and number of theparts herein specifically described, as showing an embodiment of myinvention, can be made without departing from the principle orsacrificing the advantages thereofas, for instance, more than onecrank-shaft maybe required, and the means for connecting the rod 0 tothe shaft E can be changed. I would therefore have it understood that Ido not limit myself tothe exact construction shown and described, buthold myself at liberty to make such changes and F ff, bell-crank H, anda series of doors, alterations as fairly fall within the scope of withmeans for automatically opening them my invention. when their latchesare released, substantially My device can be applied to buildings havasshown and described. I 5 ing solid walls by building an inner wall, orIn testimony whereof I {lfllX mysignature in the catches can be adaptedto catch the latches in presence of two witnesses. of hinsged doors. 1"1 w I claim and desire to secure by Letters Pat- EBSTER ent- The rod 0and crank-shaft E c c, in combination with the spring G, spring-catchrods \Vitnesses:

WM. J'. Vnnsmn, A. O. P. Nieiiotsox.

